Wire
Oddities
Seal turns hatchery into all-you-can-eat buffet SANDWICH, Mass. (AP) — Life is a big buffet for a young seal with a talent for breaking and entering. A young harbor seal somehow broke into a fish hatchery on Cape Cod on Tuesday and turned the place into an all-you-can-eat buffet. The female seal briefly had the run of the Sandwich Hatchery, downing untold numbers of trout before Division of Fisheries and Wildlife employees found it, the...
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Heloise
Dear Heloise: I have been cleaning and found 11 pairs of oldeyeglasses, and I understand you have an address where people can mail them. Would you please publish that address so I can mail them out? -- Sharon Kennedy, via e-mail Sharon, there are many groups that collect eyeglasses, but I think you are referring to Lions Clubs International, which has been collecting glasses for nearly 80 years. Adult and especially children’s eyeglasses ar...
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Incoming speaker’s wife hired for caucus job
Carl Manning Associated Press Writer TOPEKA (AP) — Incoming House Speaker Mike O’Neal’s wife will work for the chamber’s Republican caucus, but he said Wednesday that he had nothing to do with her hiring. Peter Freund, chief of staff for Majority Leader Ray Merrick, said he hired Cindy O’Neal as caucus liaison at $27,000 a year. She will work full time during legislative sessions part time the rest of the year. This year’s session starts...
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Ex-AG’s ex-lover testifies in abortion case
Roxana Hegeman Associated Press Writer WICHITA (AP) — An attorney for abortion provider George Tiller tells a judge that the current Kansas attorney general can’t sanitize his predecessors’ conduct in investigating the doctor. But prosecutors argued Wednesday that the defense failed to prove in a pretrial hearing that the ex-mistress of former Attorney General Paul Morrison persuaded him to file charges against Tiller. The Wichita doctor face...
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Ask Amy
Dear Amy: Over the past year, my 42-year-old sister has for some reason decided she does not need family anymore. She is an entrepreneur and appears to be married to her job. She is ignoring phone calls, e-mails, gifts and special family events such as birthdays, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. She has gone so far as to block my e-mail address so I can no longer send e-mails to her. She was my maid of honor at my wedding. My youngest sist...
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Kansas may not lose Congressional seat
TOPEKA (AP) — Kansas may not lose a Congressional seat once the 2010 U.S. Census is completed, according to a census official. Dennis Johnson, regional director for the U.S. Census, said Monday that the latest data do not show Kansas losing a seat. “However, Missouri is on the bubble,” said Johnson, whose responsibility covers seven states. That, however, could change by April 1, 2010, the official census count day. There has been speculation...
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Heloise
Dear Heloise: It’s again time to break out our hard box of brown sugar. Many words of advice have been offered. I never have a brick of brown sugar these days, because as soon as I open a new box, the remainder is placed in a glass jar with a good seal from store-bought spaghetti sauce, sauerkraut, pickles, etc. So simple! -- Grandma H., in California Aloha, Heloise: I like to make different flavors of iced tea, but I always throw in a cou...
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Oddities
Fabulous fib is named Wis. club’s top lie of 2008 MILWAUKEE (AP) — A whopper about a devious baby and his diapers is the top lie of 2008, an organization of champion fibbers declared Monday. The Burlington Liars Club bestowed its top award for this line: “My grandson is the most persuasive liar I have ever met. By the time he was 2 years old he could dirty his diaper and make his mother believe someone else had done it.” Garth Seehawer, 7...
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Ask Amy
Dear Amy: I have been a househusband for the last 20 years. I have six sisters and no brothers. Recently, one of my sister’s daughters was married, and I was intentionally not invited. Through the family grapevine, I learned that it was my niece’s choice. I’ve talked to the girl maybe two times in my life, the last being eight years ago when she was in high school. We had a disagreement regarding feminism. It was silly, really. There was no...
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Celebrities
Swayze faces cancer (and a new TV series) bravely NEW YORK (AP) — Patrick Swayze says his yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer put him “through hell” while he pushed ahead on his new TV series. “I’ve never been one to run from a challenge,” Swayze tells ABC’s Barbara Walters in an exclusive interview. But the 56-year-old actor owns up to his fear: “Yeah, I’m scared. Yeah, I’m angry. Yeah, I’m (asking), ’Why me?”’ Swayze’s new A&E polic...
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New Kansas treasurer faces questions on governor’s race
Greensburg native said he gained greater appreciation for compassion and faith from 2007 tornado experience John Hanna AP Political Writer TOPEKA (AP) — Dennis McKinney took office Monday as state treasurer but immediately faced questions about whether he’s now the leading Democratic contender for governor in 2010. He sought to avoid speculation about whether he’ll try to succeed Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a fellow Democrat, and focused ins...
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Former prosecutor gets prison time
WICHITA (AP) — A former Cherokee County prosecutor who extorted money and favors from a Galena adult club is sentenced to a year and a day in prison. Michael Goodrich, of Baxter Springs, asked a federal judge before sentencing Monday that he be allowed to stay out of prison so he could provide for his family. He said he was sorry for how his actions affected his family and community. Federal sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of b...
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Senator files papers for 2010 gov’s race
John Hanna AP Political Writer TOPEKA (AP) — Sen. Sam Brownback took a big step Monday toward running for governor in 2010 by submitting the paperwork necessary to raise money for a bid for the Republican nomination. Brownback filed a single-page form to the secretary of state’s office appointing a treasurer for a campaign committee. Kansas law requires such an appointment before a candidate can accept contributions. “Today I have taken the f...
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Wall Street investors collect profits after last week’s rally
Tim Paradis AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Caution returned to Wall Street Monday as investors gave back some gains from last week’s rally even as they found encouragement from President-elect Barack Obama’s calls for an economic stimulus package. Some retreat was to be expected after investors sent the Dow Jones industrial average to a two-month high on Friday; investors are wary about pouring more money into the battered market with...
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Authorities launch nationwide search
Kansas boy last seen nearly a decade ago EL DORADO (AP) — The adoptive parents of a missing Kansas boy who failed to report his disappearance nearly a decade ago are considered “people of interest” in the case as authorities expand their search nationwide, a sheriff said Monday. Butler County Sheriff Craig Murphy told reporters no charges would be filed immediately, while investigators focus on finding Adam Herrman. The boy was 11 when he ...
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Oddities
Premium tuna fetches $100,000 in Tokyo auction TOKYO (AP) — Two sushi bar owners paid more than $100,000 for a Japanese bluefin tuna at a Tokyo fish auction Monday, several times the average price and the highest in nearly a decade, market officials said. The 282-pound (128-kilogram) premium tuna caught off the northern coast of Oma fetched 9.63 million yen ($104,700), the highest since 2001, when another Japanese bluefin tuna brought an a...
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Heloise
Dear Readers: These days, we’re all looking for ways to save money, and an easy way to do that is by changing your home’s air filter. Not only will the air you breathe be cleaner and healthier, but doing this on a regular basis can lower your utility bills. When was the last time you checked or changed the filter? Having a clean filter should be a priority. If you have a permanent filter, it should be washed once a month. Be sure to follow...
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Celebrities
NEW YORK (AP) — “Damages” arrives just in time to help you start the new year right: off-kilter ... on edge ... hooked ... and loving it! There’s a comfort factor to this dizzying legal thriller, with its mind games, masquerades and clash of power brokers. Returning for its second season Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST on FX, “Damages” brings you reassurance at a time when, in real life, a U.S. Senator’s seat has been peddled by a governor, and wh...
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Ask Amy
Dear Amy: I’m happily married with four wonderful children. I have a great husband and a great career. Recently I received an e-mail from my ex-boyfriend from high school. He is an officer in the Marine Corps. He broke up with me 16 years ago. He is now married to the girl he dumped me for all those years ago. I opened up my e-mail and was surprised to learn that he has been looking for me all this time and wanted to apologize for what he...
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Celebrities
PARIS (AP) — French actress Isabelle Huppert will head the jury of the 62nd edition of the Cannes film festival in May. Huppert, 55, who has starred in more than 90 films, has twice won the best actress award at the prestigious film festival on the French Riviera. “I am very glad and very proud,” the actress said in a statement after organizers announced her selection Friday. “I’ve had a long relationship with Cannes and this next meeting ...
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